Under the North East Region Textile Promotion Scheme (NERTPS), a proposal to establish two Eri spun silk mills in Assam and Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) was approved during 2018-19, textiles minister Smriti Irani told parliament in a written reply recently. A regional office at Guwahati is monitoring central government schemes in textiles and sericulture.

Under NERTPS, the Central Silk Board has taken measures to increase silk production in Assam by implementing sericulture projects in four categories: Integrated Sericulture Development Project (ISDP) and Intensive Bivoltine Sericulture Development Project (IBSDP), Eri Spun Silk Mills (ESSM) and Aspirational District (AD), she informed.

In the Mega Handloom Cluster at Sivasagar in Assam, the central government has released ₹6.91 crore for projects since 2017 and the investor participation has been worth ₹1.91 crore. The office of the development commissioner (handicrafts) has taken up 39 clusters under the Ambedkar Hast Shilp Vikas Yojana (AHVY) for the overall development of artisans in Assam and this has benefitted 4970 artisans during the last two years, an official press release said.

But no proposal to grant special packages to the Assam Cooperative Jute Mills Ltd., Silghat, Nagaon, is under consideration, she added. (DS)